Went out for a night hunt

[DigginDownUnder]

I wasn't sure what to expect from the place I decided to hunt, and a couple of hours into it and all I'd found was pesky 1 & 2 cent coins (Aussie detectors will know about them) and some $2 coins.

Then I got sketchy deep signal, it turned out to be my first military button for 2015.
From a quick google, it appears to be a British artillery button, late 1800's (I think)

I also found a florin, my 125th silver coin for the year, and a school pin.





Hopefully someone can give me more information on the button.

That little ring on the back of the pin seems to be gold? No corrosion, and ver soft.


Thanks for looking.

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

I like the button. It's reminiscent of some of the designs/style of US military of the 1850/60s, etc.... And congrat's on the addition of the silver coin. What year did Australia stop minting silver coins for circulation ? A friend of mine detected there 20 yrs. ago at some run of mill parks, campgrounds, etc.... and said that silver coins were easy to find then. Because I guess most of the md'rs at that time were angling for nuggets, and not coins in Australia, so they tended to "bristle" at the 1940s and newer stuff era-sites

 

[DigginDownUnder]

I like the button. It's reminiscent of some of the designs/style of US military of the 1850/60s, etc.... And congrat's on the addition of the silver coin. What year did Australia stop minting silver coins for circulation ? A friend of mine detected there 20 yrs. ago at some run of mill parks, campgrounds, etc.... and said that silver coins were easy to find then. Because I guess most of the md'rs at that time were angling for nuggets, and not coins in Australia, so they tended to "bristle" at the 1940s and newer stuff era-sites

Thanks Tom

Australia used sterling coins up to 1945, then we went to 50% silver from 1946-65.
Then Australia went to decimal currency, we produced one more half silver coin for the year 1966 a 50 cent.

I think it depends on what part of Aus your in when it comes to finding silver. I've dug 232 silver coins in 20 months of detecting, I do hunt on a weekly basis

I live inland, and my average size town is surrounded by smaller rural towns, most of the small places used to be a lot larger back in the day, people seemed to be more spread out. Now a lot of these places consist of one or two farms or are completely desolated.
With the help of google earth, I find the old cricket grounds and public halls, sometimes it's just a clearing in the trees with a little straight line (the cricket pitch)
I have also got lucky and found a couple of old racecourses.

So far it's been great for the coinage but hasn't produced much in the way of relics and jewerly. So as much as love the silver, I tend to get a more excited when I find something like the button

Heres the button after a bit more cleaning.